The global HIV epidemic claimed fewer lives in 2015 than at any point in almost two decades, and fewer people became newly infected with HIV than in any year since 1991. The list of countries on the brink of eliminating new HIV infections among children keeps growing. A massive expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has reduced the global number of people dying from HIV-related causes to about 1.1 million in 2015 – 45% fewer than in 2005. UNAIDS/WHO estimates show that more than 18 million people were receiving ART in mid-2016.

With increasing global use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to both treat and prevent HIV, and increasing global trends in HIV drug resistance ( HIVDR), efforts to improve HIV programme quality and prevent the emergence and transmission of drug-resistant HIV must be strengthened.

This global report is based on 59 countries that reported data from more than 12 000 clinics from cohorts of patients receiving ART between 2004 and 2014. The report includes the most recent clinic-level data reported to WHO in 2015 –2016 and reflects a lag due to the 12 month cohort reporting period.

Scientific evidence is essential for policies and programmes to advance the vision of UNAIDS of zero HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. New scientific information is becoming available at a rapid pace, and many of the findings are potentially important to guide future action against AIDS. To ensure this, UNAIDS has access to the latest scientific developments; a UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel was established to advise UNAIDS on major new scientific discoveries and research evidence as well as research gaps and strategic AIDS research needs. The Scientific Expert Panel comprises more than 40 scientists from around the world with expertise in a wide range of disciplines, including epidemiology, behavioural science, virology, diagnostics, pathogenesis, immunology, treatment, prevention and cure.

Until recently, diagnosis and treatment of HCV was complex. Suitable tools for screening and diagnosis were lacking, and treatment was hampered by limited efficacy and severe side effects. New medicines for the treatment of HCV have revolutionized HCV treatment. Combinations of these new medicines, which are generally well-tolerated and effective, can cure HCV in 12 weeks. This offers a huge opportunity to address HCV, in particularly among HIV/HCV co-infected people, who are more vulnerable as they progress faster to serious disease than HCV mono-infected people.

While scaling up access to all treatment and prevention options that currently exist is essential, it is not sufficient. There remains a critical need for additional options. In addition to the introduction of oral-TDF based PrEP and the open-lable extension studies of the vaginal dapivirine ring, there are a number of efficacy trials planned or underway. They're tackling virtually every intervention—from next-generation PrEP in the form of F/TAF, a drug that will soon be tested for efficacy as daily oral PrEP, to long-acting injectables, vaccines and antibody-mediated prevention.

Greatly expanded access to routine viral load testing will be a game-changer in the global response to AIDS. Routine viral load tests improve treatment quality and individual health outcomes for people living with HIV, contribute to prevention, and potentially reduce resource needs for costly second- and third-line HIV medicines.

Given the higher rates of acquisition seen across so-called key populations—members of highly burdened and underserved groups—it is critical to provide access to the research process such that they can participate and reap more immediate benefit of scientific progress. Greater efforts must be made to include key populations in this crucial process for the HIV prevention response to be truly impactful.

ART is being rapidly scaled up in Myanmar, led by National AIDS Programme (NAP) and supported by many partners.
Decentralization of HIV care and treatment to township and peripheral levels brings services closer to where those in need reside.
ART decentralization assessment conducted to 13 decentralized ART sites in March 2015 by a joint team of national and international experts.

Whether it’s the rising price of the EpiPen, or new outbreaks of diseases, like Ebola, Zika and yellow fever, the rising costs of health technologies and the lack of new tools to tackle health problems, like antimicrobial resistance, is a problem in rich and poor countries alike.

According to a High-Level Panel convened to advise the UN Secretary-General on improving access to medicines, the world must take bold new approaches to both health technology innovation and ensuring access so that all people can benefit from the medical advances that have dramatically improved the lives of millions around the world in the last century.